1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wave combining apparatus for semiconductor lasers, wherein a plurality of laser beams emitted from a plurality of semiconductor lasers are combined to produce a single, efficient laser beam having a high light concentration.
2. Description of the Related Art
Laser beams have been used in many fields (for example, medical treatment and optical working) particularly for marking. In order to use laser beams in such fields, however, the laser beams must have significantly high light concentration. Thus, in order for a semiconductor laser having low power output to be used, it is necessary to increase the light concentration of the beam. The light concentration of a semiconductor laser beam can be increased with a wave combining apparatus. A wave combining apparatus uses optical components, such as polarizing beam splitter prisms and dichroic mirrors to couple a number of laser beams emitted from a number of semiconductor lasers.